Cash-rich firms to drive surge in UK investment

UK INVESTMENT will surge ahead this year, according to a bullish forecast released by economists today, adding to a record number of projects in the UK by international firms.

EY’s Item Club predicts that capital spending by UK businesses will rise by 12.5 per cent in 2014, more than four times as fast as total growth, which the group expects to rise by 3.1 per cent, the fastest of the G7 nations.

“Although the consumer remains an important part of the story, stronger corporate confidence in future demand is driving fixed investment,” EY’s Mark Gregory, said. “With large cash piles and stock market sentiment tilting towards growth, we may see a scramble to invest driven by FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).”

The projections follow the news from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) yesterday that foreign investment projects created 66,390 jobs in the last financial year, more than at any time since 2001.

Of the positions created, 16,242 were in London. In total, UKTI said there were 1,773 projects launched in 2013-14, the highest since records began in the 1980s. London accounted for nearly a third of the investment.